Just as the different social codes at Coney Island made one feel as if they had entered another world, so too did many of the rides encourage that sense of being transported. Coney pioneered the amusement park concept of creating a sense of being transported to faraway lands. While staying within the safe confines of the park, people who had never left New York could experience the sights and smells of foreign lands. Scenic railways were popular at the Park, and employed some simplistic techniques to enhance the ride. For example, riders on the Alpine Railway would get a blast of wintry cold Swiss air on the ride to create the impression they were truly experiencing travel.

    Rides that transported visitors through different lands and cultures were precursors to wildly popular rides like “It’s a Small World” in Walt Disney World. For people who might never be able to afford a trip abroad, these rides could bring the rest of the world to them and lay it out in neat cultural packages.

     Up close, visitors could also examine exotic members of native tribes like Eskimos or the Wild Men of Borneo. Park attractions scouts would scour the globe to find whole tribes that would agree to come live at Coney Island in return for food, lodging, and payment. The strange looking families with scanty clothing proved fascinating for visitors in an age before television and National Geographic familiarized these images and brought them directly into people’s homes.